All posts tagged Cuba

As Speakeasy reported last week, Conan O’Brien recently took his namesake late-night talk show, “Conan,” to Havana, Cuba, making him the first American late-night host to film in the country in over 50 years. While O’Brien used the typical fish-out-of-water scenario as the theme to his hour-plus-long special, “Conan in Cuba,” which aired on TBS Wednesday night, he succeeded in shining a light on a vibrant culture that still remains a mystery to most Americans.

Pairing his unique brand of comedy with a keen interest to learn more about his surroundings, O’Brien put together a hilarious yet fascinating block of television. He took Spanish lessons – in which he got into several arguments with his no-nonsense teacher – visited a cigar factory, a rum museum and even just hung out with some locals who had no clue who he was. It was during this low-key experience with a bunch of Havana natives that O’Brien made his discovery of Cuba’s biggest and best-kept secret: rum in a box. Read More »

MONTREAL, Canada–Somewhere on the outer limits of the compact Montreal Jazz Festival, across from a seedy stripper joint, the abundantly afro’d Alex Cuba was holding court in front of a rapturous audience of about 500.

The Cuban-born, Canadian singer-songwriter managed to flirt and sing at the same time while performing songs from his latest album, “Ruido en el Sistema,” in one instance about a certain woman’s lips–how pretty and warm they are, how soft, etc.

Mr. Cuba generally doesn’t go for politics in his funky, bluesy brand of Spanish-language pop songs–and in an interview declined to discuss the politics of his native-born country either. But his 2012 album does feature one anti-war track “Creo” (“I believe”) in which he sings, “I do not believe in military weapons, that halts silence as it shoots.”

Perhaps part of Mr. Cuba’s reluctance to discuss the Communist island’s leadership is that he still returns periodically, a feat eased by Canada’s lack of travel restrictions, in contrast to U.S. policy. Read More »

Beyoncé said in an interview that she found the controversy surrounding her recent trip to Cuba “quite shocking,” in brief comments aired by ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Asked about the negative reaction to the Cuba trip, she responded: “It was such a beautiful trip, I met some incredible children. I visited some incredible entrepreneurs. I learned so much about so many people in the country. It [the reaction] was actually quite shocking.”

Jay-Z says in his new song “Open Letter” that he got “White House clearance” for a trip to Cuba last week with wife Beyoncé, but White House spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday that President Obama had nothing to do with it.

“I guess nothing rhymes with ‘Treasury,’ because Treasury offers and gives licenses for travel,” Carney said during a White House briefing.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R., Fla.) is keeping up the pressure on Jay-Z and Beyonce over their recent trip to Cuba, reiterating Tuesday she wants questions answered about the nature of the visit. Americans are barred from tourist trips to Cuba, but there are exceptions for academic or cultural exchanges.

“There are a lot of better places they could go where they’re not feeding a monstrous regime because every dollar that is spent there goes to the Castro regime so they can further repress the Cuban people,” Ms. Ros-Lehtinensaid on CNN Tuesday morning.

She added: “I wish that they would have a little more common sense and understanding and solidarity with the suffering of the Cuban people, and they ate at great places and stayed at beautiful hotels, none of which the Cuban people are allowed to eat or stay.”

Many super groups are less than the sum of their super parts. But vibraphonist Stefon Harris, 38, trumpeter Christian Scott, 28, and tenor saxophonist Dávid Sanchez, 42, are looking to beat the odds with their collaborative project, “Ninety Miles,” released this week on Concord Picante.

Together, the three musicians — all bandleaders in their own right, all labelmates as well — journeyed to Havana, Cuba (hence the album’s title) to work and record with Cuban pianists Rember Duharte and Harold Lopez-Nussa. The end result is a cross-pollination of Latin and American jazz styles over a nine-song set. To up the ante, the entire trip was filmed for a documentary of the same name that will hit film festivals in the fall and accompanies the album release.

Speakeasy spoke with Harris, Scott, and about their decision to work together. Read More »

For Havana-born artist Inverna Lockpez, the events of her early life in Cuba were perfect fodder for a graphic novel. In “Cuba: My Revolution,” a fictional tale inspired by her life, she and her collaborator, cartoonist Dean Haspiel, tell the story of 17-year-old girl caught between her ideals and her reality as a Cuban on the turning point of history.

Skate culture thrives in the Cuban capital, despite the fact that the island doesn’t boast a single skate shop offering new boards or wheels. At the airports, grandmothers at the baggage claim retrieve new boards by the half dozen, a sure-fire hit with those waiting at home. Teenagers with skateboards regularly gather at a hillside park called Sala Polivalenta to make up their own tricks, swap stories about dangerous spills and compare favorite heavy-metal bands. (Anthrax, an American group, ranks high.)

Two weeks ago, actress and singer Patti LuPone grabbed a cell phone out of the hand of an audience member who was texting during a performance of her current play, "Shows for Days." The bold move led to an outpouring of support from fans fed up with glowing screens. Ms. LuPone gives us her five rules of theater etiquette.